Category: Diversity Series

Implicit bias is a harmful bi-product of living in a segregated world. Without understanding of one another, humans naturally develop bias based on their perceptions of those different to themselves. This can become an enormous obstacle to true diversity and inclusion.

What are the barriers to leading across lines of difference?

Closed Captions for Leading Across Lines Of Difference

Leading across lines of difference.

To lead across lines of difference

is a skill that will not only enhance

the productivity of your organization,

but will equip you with a unique skill

to truly operate in a global context.

One of the key areas of leadershipis communication.

So here are some barriersto effective communication.

First one is cultural bias.

We spoke a little bitabout bias in this course.

And a bias is essentially a blind spot,

or a way of emphasizing one thingand de-emphasizing another.

This can be both consciousand subconscious.

In many ways, bias reflects ourselves,

and sort of assumesthat our cultural norms

and the ways in whichwe see the world are uniform.

OK. That’s number one.

Number two: A lack of awarenessof cultural differences.

People who see

everyone as the same

and de-emphasizethe differences amongst people

are guilty of a lack of awareness.

As a leader, understanding the differences

and more importantly, the strengthsof each and every person,

is a very, very important piece

in tackling complex challenges.

So, awareness rather thana lack of awareness

will increase your ability to communicate.

Third: Language differences.

Even though in many parts of the worldpeople speak the same language,

the way in which language is used

can often be interpreted differently.

Remember: There’s the languagethat we speak,

and there’s the language that we receive.

And often there can be a disconnectbetween those two things.

It’s very importantto ask probing questions, therefore,

about what someone interpretsyour instructions to be.

For example,

if you tell someone,

“Complete this task by this date,”

they may not understand

what you mean by “complete”.

In their mind, “complete”might be checking a few boxes.

Whereas you might interpret itas not only checking the boxes,

but going back and assessing the quality

of those particular tasks, right?

So you have qualityand completeness in your mind,

the person may be interpreting itas just going through and checking boxes.

So it’s important for you

to really dive in and probe

in terms of the languagethat the person may be using.

The fourth one is ethnocentrism.

We spoke about this term earlier

where we believe that our ethnicity,

or in the ways in which we are,

is superior to the waysin which other people are.

That can bea large barrier to communication.

Because people can pick up

when they feel that one may feel

that they are superior to another person.

Remember, 90 percentof communication is non-verbal.

And so be awareof how you’re communicating

both verbally and non-verbally.

And finally, inactive listening.

Inactive listening describes a process

where someone is just…

putting out or responding in general ways

that don’t provide the spacefor active listening.

So let me give you an example of this.

If I’m talking to someoneand they’re just saying “Yes, yes, yes”,

but I can seethat they’re clearly distracted,

That is an example of inactive listening.

However, if there were acting in a waythat was fully present with me

and engaged with mein a culturally sensitive way,

then I could feelthat I am being listened to.

In other words, that personis demonstrating active listening.

So as a leader,

if you can recognize some of these things

in your practice and address them,

you can improveyour cultural communication.

The next important point to bring upis microaggressions.

Microaggression is a brief,often unintentional bias

that people communicateby virtue of what they say, do,

or the environment they create.

And this by someonecalled Derald Wing Sue.

I provided three examples,

and the key thing for us hereis to think about the hidden message.

So the first one is when

a white man or woman clutches their purseor checks their wallet

as a black or Latino manapproaches or passes them.

So this gives a message

that you and your group are criminals.

Right? That’s whata microaggression looks like.

It’s very subtle in some ways,and sometimes not so subtle.

Whistles or cat-calls are heard from men

as a woman walks down the street.

The hidden message is that your appearance

or body is for the enjoyment of men.

You are a sex object.

So that’s what a microaggression does,

it sends hidden messages to someone

and positions them in a certain way.

A blind man reportsthat people often raise their voice

when speaking to him.

He responds by saying,

“Please don’t raise your voice,I can hear you perfectly well”.

The hidden message here isthat a person with a disability

is defined as lesser in all aspectsof physical and mental functioning.

So that’s how microaggressions operate.

It’s important to manage

and be very, very critical and careful

about how these microaggressionsmight operate in your organization.

The next piece that’s helpfulfor you as a leader to work through,

are difficult dialogues.

And these are spaces where perhaps

you are thinking about howto communicate around diversity.

And so there’s some eight ground rulesthat are important.

The first one isto be open and honest

as you feel you can be.

The second important rule is to respecteach other’s right to be heard.

So you’re being honestas much as you can be,

but you’re also respectingpeoples’ right to fully engage

and fully be heard in the conversation.

Remember that you might be a manager,but you also have

the space to learn from others.

So learn,

both as a teacher and a learner.

Become an active listener,

and remember we can all participatein our own ways.

Do not judge other peoples’ feelings.

Focus on behavior rather than the person.

So don’t use terms like,

“You and your kind are like this”.

Rather focus on the behaviorof the person,

that’s easier to address.

Never ask someone to bea spokesperson for their whole group.

So never ask a woman to talkon behalf of all other women, for example.

Understanding and practicing diversity benefits a company at the individual and organizational levels.

As companies search for talent to compete in the global market, they seek candidates who demonstrate skills to execute the job and work in diverse teams. Mastery of cross-cultural skills leads to the creation of new products, increasing the efficiency of processes, and improved customer service.

The benefits of individuals with good diversity related skills spill over into the organization. Organizations can also benefit from a diversity aware workforce through better communication, increased retention of good employees, and reducing the likelihood of incurring costs related to workplace bias.

How Does Diversity Benefit Your Organization?

The benefits of individuals with good diversity related skills spill over into the organization.

Organizations can also benefit from a diversity aware workforce through better communication, increased retention of good employees, and reducing the likelihood of incurring costs related to workplace bias.

[Exercise] Shifting Perspectives in your organization

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An important question I asked often is: What is diversity and why is it important?

I believe that diversity means strength in difference. Diversity includes everyone, encompassing the differences between groups, among groups, and within our own identities. I embrace diversity as an asset in my relationships with others as I seek to foster equity and inclusiveness.

I have put together a video below to explain how diversity can add value to your life, your business and the world.

Lesson 1: What is Diversity and Why Is It Important?

Follow along with the Closed Captions Below

Hello and welcome to this course.

I’m going to kick us off by giving you

some of the most important piecesof information that you need

to get through and learn,

and gainsome deep understandings of diversity.

The first question is,

“What is diversityand why is it important?”

I’m going to tackle this

by looking atthese three concentric circles

right here on your left hand side.

You exist in connection to other people,

so that have you in the center,and then on the outside

you haveyour immediate family or relationships,

whether those be friends or family.

So you exist in connectionto those people.

However, they existin connection to others as well,

and so you have yourself, your family,and then your broader society.

Now, why this is important,

is because you act in ways,

as we all do, to shape the outcomesof your close connections,

as they do for you.

You act to shape those outcomes,and in turn,

those people are shapingthe outcomes of the society, right?

So I’ll give you an example.

In places where people come up withan amazing idea,

they share it with their family,

and sometimes that idea

can ultimately leadto global governmental changes, right?

And so that’s the impactthat you as an individual can have

on the close connections around you,and ultimately the society around you.

However, in the same way,

the society shapes the waysin which our close connections operate.

And those close connections in turnshape the way we operate.

So think about perhaps growing up,

how certain things that you do

were put inside of you, or…

you learned those habits and techniquesfrom those closest to you.

But the truth is that many of themlearned those same things from others.

And so that’s how the society

and the individual relate to each other.

The reason why diversity is so important,

is because understanding the waythese things operate

can make us more effective,

and can help us understand

ourselves that much better.

Understanding diversity

and bringinga deeper understanding of yourself,

and how you, your…

experience of being influenced and shaped

from the family and society,

can help you beincredibly successful at work,

and can help you buildstronger family relationships.

And so that is one of the core reasonswhy diversity is important.

It’s the ways in whichwe can operate in the world

which is made up of multiple peopleof different perspectives.

And how we can be

both culturally sensitive, affirming,

and, in the work place, productive.

So with that information

let’s talk a little bit about…

some diversity myths.

These are some of the key things

that people say often about diversity.

And these might be on your mind

before you’re getting startedin this course.

I’m going to debunk them right here.

And the rest of the courseI’m going to do is

spend time with you working throughsome of the main components.

So I hope you’re excited.

Myth number one.

Diversity only applies to womenand minorities.

OK, let’s debunk this.

Diversity is not onlyabout certain groups.

Think about

a man for example, like myself.

I am both a middle-class man,

I exist in a city and not a rural area,

I have a certain religion,

I am of a certain age,

I speak a certain language,

I have a certain nationality.

And each of these things

makes me diverse in certain places.

Makes me different in certain places.

Therefore, because I havethese differences, and so do you,

diversity applies to all of us.

Right? It doesn’t just applyto certain groups of people.

So that’s myth number one, debunked.

Myth number two.

Diversity is a new phenomenon.

Diversity is not a new phenomenon.

If you look at the world map,

we have over 8.5 billion peoplein this world.

All of them are different

and have strengths in different areas.

And so diversity is not a new phenomenon

we’re just talking about itin a way that is inclusive,

in a way that brings people together.

In the past, if you think aboutthe history of colonialism and slavery,

there has been a very big push

to push out any kinds of difference.

And what diversity is doing

is naming the fact that the reality is

that we have a lot of difference already.

That’s myth two, debunked.

Myth three: Diversity equals deficiency.

This is probably one of the biggest myths.

Diversity is actually a strength.

Think about the fact

that when you have peopleof diverse backgrounds on a team,

the creativity, the adaptabilityand the innovation increases dramatically.

Once you learn the skills to communicate,

to understand the waysin which culture operates,

you can then use those skills

in a productive way to produce outcomes.

The problems in the worldhave been created by a certain mindset.

And it takes diversityto shift that mindset

and create new solutions.

So that’s myth three, debunked.

Myth four: Diversity equals divisiveness.

It is not diversitythat equals divisiveness,

it is the way we approach diversity

that divides us.

Through this course youwill learn skills to bring you together,

to make sure that diversityis actually inclusiveness,

that diversity is actually a strength.

And so divisiveness comes from the way

in which we interpret difference.

Inclusiveness comes from the waywe embrace difference.

Number five: Diversity is to be feared.

Once again: Diversity, difference,

we are all different in multiple ways.

I listed a number of them

in the beginning of this slide.

If we were ostracized, or…

oppressed based onall the different identities,

we would have 8.5 billion peoplewould be living in isolation.

The truth is, diversity is somethingto be embraced.

It is something to be…

utilized as a strength,

and our human capacity

can be exponentially accelerated

based on the waysin which we deal with each other,

and the ways in which we work together.

So myth five, completely debunked.

In the next parts of this course,

we’re going to be divinginto the diversity and leadership,

we’re going to be lookingat anti-bias training.

We’re going to be looking at ways in whichyou can transform your organization